Courses for 2019

Click on course title to see details.

YOGA & ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS

BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT AND FOR CHEAPER PLANE FARES – COURSES MAY FILL UP MONTHS IN ADVANCE.
A maximum of 18 participants on each course ensures a nurturing environment. Around 20 hours of structured group activities leaves plenty of time to laze around by the pool or explore on your own.
A number of excursions are on offer each week. There are various options depending upon the time of the year and the needs of the group:
• a morning at our exotic local market in St Antonin.
• a day trip visiting one of the nearby mediaeval villages: walk, picnic, swim in the River Aveyron.
• an optional 3 hour canoeing trip through the river’s spectacular limestone gorges. Those not canoeing will be offered an alternative excursion, greeting the canoeists with a riverside picnic.
• an evening trip to listen to or dance to a local band.

Courses take place either in a lovingly restored former barn with a high ceiling and exposed beams or in our outdoor yoga studio.
Do you have a friend or partner who would like to come to La Roane but not do the course? There is a £70 reduction for non-participating guests. Always plenty to do and see so they won’t get bored.

“Its incredible…a wonderland.” Betty (group participant).

Look at the calendar to find up to date availability of the courses

7 – 14 June: CIRCLE DANCE - Anne Armstrong……£630

(Friday to Friday)

Circle dances are drawn from many different cultures and traditions. They can be meditative, lively, playful, healing and fun. No partners needed. All are welcome.
Anne Armstrong returns to La Roane bringing a great wealth of experience, ability and enthusiasm. She has been involved with circle dancing for over 20 years and leads a number of groups in the UK. She creates a very convivial atmosphere in which everybody feels relaxed and inspired. Not suitable for complete beginners – Please call Anne before booking 01580 211621 www.circledancenetwork.org.uk

N.B.The single supplement of this course is only £30 (as opposed to £50 on other courses) and the transfer charge (2 ways) is £45 instead of £60.

Live life to the full, cherishing each moment and renewing your passion for life.

This week is all about enjoying yourself whilst discovering the gorgeous surroundings. We will explore the local area visiting mediaeval villages and the fabled city of Cahors with its famous medieval bridge and it’s impressive cathedral. There will be a series of organised walks exploring the stunning countryside plus a chance to canoe down the River Aveyron.

There will be a vegetarian cookery class with our cook Enzo. We will also spend time doing laughter exercises, chi kung and other meditative practices as well as singing your heart out and dancing your socks off! All activities are optional and all are welcome.
Nigel Shamash, the owner of La Roane, has lived here these past 24 years and has been running yoga and activity holidays here since 1999.
He founded Cortijo Romero (see www.cortijo-romero.co.uk ) in 1986 and was its resident director for 5 years before moving to France.

He has had a varied career as a banker in South America, Senior Lecturer in Business Studies at Portsmouth University and a yoga teacher and masseur in Australia. He has spent a lot of time visiting yoga ashrams in India and alternative communities in California.

He has a profound interest in all aspects of the spiritual path with a particular interest in yoga and music. He sings and plays with a local band. He is fun-loving with a special blend of humour and sensitivity – an ideal host and group leader.

Apart from the first day, morning yoga class take place before breakfast. It will begin with a gentle opening of the body and atunement of the mind to the breath. It will build into a flowing, dynamic and strengthening sequence, always incorporating the cultivation of awareness, physical alignment, breath and chakras (energy centres).

Afternoon sessions vary and may include elements of the following: moving meditations on the chakras, free dance movement, group singing and harmony, mantras, kundalini kriyas, alongside guided relaxations and restorative postures. These sessions are designed to heighten self awareness and free our innate creative spirit. They are offered in a totally supportive environment free from judgement and expectation.

After dinner, we will gather together for group singing with Kate and Nigel Shamash (your host), an evening stroll, a game of table tennis or simply to hang out and chat and listen to the call of the night creatures…a truly inspirational and life-changing week!

An inspiring week of fun and laughter, based around music, blended with other activities such as chi kung, nature walks and yoga.

Build your self confidence with group singing and express yourself through the joy of making music! No previous experience or prior musical training needed to take part.

Express yourself through music and song with a week of musical activities including lots of guided group singing. We will also play with rhythm, melody and harmony, music and movement, fun voice-work exercises and some collaborative song-writing. Plus the opportunity to perform!

• Feel free to be musically creative with others of different abilities in a supportive environment free from judgement and expectation. (No-one will be expected to sing or play on their own).

• Take part in organised group sessions during the day plus singing and jamming in the evenings after dinner with Stuart, Nigel and others. Previous years included visits to a local venue to listen to live music and even entertaining the crowd ourselves, or singing a “flashmob” in the market place!

Your host Nigel Shamash will lead warm up sessions before breakfast every morning using techniques of laughter yoga and chi kung – a great way to start the day. He will also lead a couple of yoga sessions before dinner, with emphasis on breathing, relaxation and meditation. No great exertion and no experience of yoga is necessary.

The week’s activities lead up to a grand finale where we will all star in our very own La Roane Cabaret! Please join us for what promises to be an amazing, life changing week!

Stuart Marshall is a singer, (natural voice practitioner) guitarist and songwriter with over 30 years experience playing, performing, teaching and enthusiastically leading others to create music. His courses at la Roane over the last 7 years have been hugely successful. Stuart particularly enjoys working with groups of all abilities and aims to bring out the best in everyone. Over the last ten years he has taught hundreds of students on his own guitar retreats and singing courses.www.guitar-retreats.co.uk.

” I loved every bit of it, the music, the food ,the fun and laughter and most importantly the company. Thanks to one and all. I really hope to meet up with you again next year for more great music, lots of silliness and a thoroughly fabulous holiday! “ Cags – UK

” It was a week full of vitality, joy and inspiration…it´s the whole composition: the people, the music, the scenery, the food, that make this workshop unique. “ Yvonne – Germany

” What a wonderful week I had. I was a bit daunted at first, as a ‘newbie’, but you all made me very welcome and encouraged me to step a bit outside my comfort zone. I’ve done quite a lot of flute-playing (and singing of course) since I returned home, and it feels good! “ Ruth

This week of Iyengar yoga is about opening up and learning this life changing practice. There will be a morning session before breakfast with Fiona focussing mostly on the asanas and a late afternoon session with Jenny based on pranayama. The morning and afternoon sessions complement each other to balance body and mind and bring about inner peace and harmony. It’s a challenging, but not competitive, practice which emphasises the alignment of the body and correct breathing, while still taking into account each practitioner’s individual needs. It is suitable for people with a basic practice in Iyengar yoga.

Fiona Dewar has practiced yoga as taught by BKS Iyengar since 1992, having been fortunate enough to learn directly since 1995 in Rishikesh. She returns annually to learn at the Iyengar Institute in Pune where she also has a home.

She enjoys teaching and sharing her enthusiasm, encouraging people to learn this foundation for physical and mental wellbeing.

Jenny Livingston has been a passionate student of yoga since her teenage years and has visited India several times to deepen her practice. She teaches regularly and has classes dedicated to the teachings of pranayama. This compliments her skill as a registered homeopath and teacher of mindfulness meditation.

Enjoy allowing your body and mind to experience many strands of yoga under the tuition of Janaki and Davy. Each day there will be two sessions where you can experience Janaki’s unique style of hatha flow yoga and Davy’s dynamic ashtanga yoga style. In addition, there will be chance to explore pranayama, meditation and visualisation with plenty of time for advice and help with your yoga practice. Beginners and more experienced yogis alike are welcome and over the week, we can explore together backbends, twists, balances and inversions, and much much more, going as far as your mind and body will allow. You will have a lot of fun and laughter and surprises!

Janaki has been teaching and practising yoga for many years and graduated from Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Ashram, Kerala in 1998.
Davy has been teaching and practising for almost 10 years. He is co-founder of the Brighton Yoga Foundation and Festival, now a registered charity, which organises an annual free yoga festival in the city and year-round programmes of community yoga outreach to people who need the benefits of yoga the most.
Davy and Janaki share a sense of fun and a passion for yoga and they believe it should be inclusive and available to all.

Live life to the full, cherishing each moment and renewing your passion for life.

This week is all about enjoying yourself whilst discovering the gorgeous surroundings. We will explore the local area visiting mediaeval villages and the fabled city of Cahors with its famous medieval bridge and it’s impressive cathedral. There will be a series of organised walks exploring the stunning countryside gathering figs and seasonal fruit plus a chance to canoe down the River Aveyron.

There will be a vegetarian cookery class with our cook Enzo. We will also spend time doing laughter exercises, chi kung and other meditative practices as well as singing your heart out and dancing your socks off! All activities are optional and all are welcome.
Nigel Shamash, the owner of La Roane, has lived here these past 24 years and has been running yoga and activity holidays here since 1999.
He founded Cortijo Romero (see www.cortijo-romero.co.uk ) in 1986 and was its resident director for 5 years before moving to France.

He has had a varied career as a banker in South America, Senior Lecturer in Business Studies at Portsmouth University and a yoga teacher and masseur in Australia. He has spent a lot of time visiting yoga ashrams in India and alternative communities in California.

He has a profound interest in all aspects of the spiritual path with a particular interest in yoga and music. He sings and plays with a local band. He is fun-loving with a special blend of humour and sensitivity – an ideal host and group leader.

Circle dances are drawn from many different cultures and traditions. They can be meditative, lively, playful, healing and fun. No partners needed. All are welcome.
Anne Armstrong returns to La Roane bringing a great wealth of experience, ability and enthusiasm. She has been involved with circle dancing for over 15 years and leads a number of groups in the UK. She creates a very convivial atmosphere in which everybody feels relaxed and inspired. Not suitable for complete beginners – Please call Anne before booking 01580 211621 www.circledancenetwork.org.uk

N.B.The single supplement of this course is only £30 (as opposed to £50 on other courses) and the transfer charge (2 ways) is £45 instead of £60.